W. Joyful Hearts for Joyful Hearts
Ruét WEDDING PLANNING guide
People are Meant to Be Loved,
and Life is Meant to Be Celebrated
WE ARE SO HAPPY YOU'RE HERE
We are so happy you've chosen us to document this part of your story. It's not lost on us the importance of these moments, and all the love we'll get to document for you. We can't wait to bring all the good vibes & make your wedding weekend everything you have dreamed of.
This guide will act as a little wedding planning companion, with our curated list of vendor referrals, and some tips/tricks from our experience. We will constantly be updating this, so feel free to check in throughout planning. If you need anything or a custom vendor recommendation, you can always reach us at hello@ruetphoto.com.
ISIDORE AUGUSTINE
SENIMAN CALLIGRAPHY
CARTA PLENA
PEACH PAPER DESIGN
LBV DESIGN HOUSE
EVERY LITTLE SOMETHING
Invitations & Calligraphy
QUICK TIPS FOR THE BEST PHOTOS
Insider Info - Prep
We recommend scheduling hair & makeup as well as a trial bouquet with your wedding florist. You'll want to check in with your alterations person before scheduling this.
HAIR & MAKEUP TIPS
BRIDALS
A hair & makeup trial is essential. You can schedule it for your engagement session or a bridal session so you're utilizing it in your photos (and can see how it photographs).
If you love a bold lip, just remember the brighter the color, the more you see where it's rubbed off (i.e. your hubby's face after the first kiss, your upper lip or chin, cheek kisses, teeth, etc). Personally, we recommend going with a more neutral color.
CHOOSING A VIDEOGRAPHER
The question we get asked the most is, "how is it for ya'll working with a videographer?". It's obvious that we work most closely with the videographers on the day of - often being the ones that are controlling the most micro aspects of the wedding day. My best piece of advice is to hire a videographer you really love who has a similar philosophy of documentarian coverage with a hint of editorial. I would also consider the experience with the amount of people you want to be documenting you, some videographers are a team of one which makes for a really seamless integration without a big production feel, and some bring a team of up to 3 and artificial lighting for each section of the day which can definitely feel more like a production! We are highly specific about who goes on our videographer referral list, and only include videographers who we've had a positive, seamless working experience with - so you can't go wrong with any of those teams!
FAMILY LIST
We'll send you a questionnaire for your family list 4-6 weeks out from the wedding day. You are going to list out each posted family photo you would like to take, with each combo you know you're going to want in your album and on your walls. Every family dynamic is different, this makes sure nobody is left out and to expedite the formal photo time. For pre-ceremony family photos, stick to immediate family. For post-ceremony photos, we'll start with the biggest grouping and pair down from there. Be sure to consider if you any family members that have special mobility requirements and need their photos grouped together to avoid having to wait between shots.
QUICK TIPS FOR THE BEST PHOTOS
Insider Info - Timeline
When making your starting timeline, you'll want to budget about 30 minutes for each photo section of the day. At least 30 minutes for flat lay details (scroll here to find out more about this), 30 minutes to get dressed, 30 minutes first look, 30 minutes wedding party, 30 minutes pre-ceremony family. Some things won't take that full time, but that allows us to have a little buffer time added in if something runs behind at the beginning of the day. For Post Ceremony - 30 minutes family photos, 30 minutes wedding party (if no first look), 30 minutes couple photos.
SETTING YOUR CEREMONY TIME
BUILDING OUT YOUR TIMELINE
We recommend starting your ceremony no less than 90 minutes before sundown. You'll need to budget 30 minutes for your ceremony, and that ensures that your full cocktail hour happens during daylight. If it's cloudy, you could lose up to 30 minutes of light towards the sunset time and we don't want you to be taking all of your photos in the dark. There are reasons to push earlier than that (all outdoor reception, more daylight time after the ceremony, no first look), but the only time you could push later than that would be if we had at least 4 hours of pre-ceremony time and were taking ALL of your photos beforehand. If you're not 100% sure what time to do, please reach out and we can help!
TO FIRST LOOK OR NOT?
We are pretty much always team first look. We feel that instead of one moment, it gives you two separate and distinct moments that are beautiful for their own reasons. Here are some practical things to consider:
1. Will your guests be filling all of your favorite parts of the venue when they arrive? If yes, then a first look would allow you to get photos in those spots before guests arrive.
2. Do you want to enter in to Cocktail Hour? It's almost impossible to get our couples to cocktail hour without a first look. With no first look, factoring in family photos and wedding party photos, that only gives us max 15-20 minutes of couple portraits. If you budget for sunset photos during your reception, that can add a bit more portrait time. We usually like to have at least 30 minutes.
3. Do you have a large wedding party (over 6 people each)? Without a first look, we can only do separates beforehand, which means that all of your wedding party friends will need to wait by the ceremony for us to get through your family photo list before we can take the big group photo.
TOASTS
We don't recommend having your toasts happen during dinner for photos' sake. We can't really get guest reactions and candids if everyone is eating, plus you won't want your toast images of you to be mid-bite! It's better to have them before dinner starts or at the very end of dinner.
Wedding Day Styling
PREP LIST
All the Details
We'll need you to have these things together & ready to go for us at our first photo location when we arrive so we can start shooting your details as soon as possible!
ALL WEDDING RINGS (INCLUDING ENGAGEMENT RING)
BRIDAL ACCESSORIES (SHOES, JEWELRY, VEIL, DRESS, HAIRPIECES)
SPECIAL ACCESSORIES (HEIRLOOMS, LIPSTICK, OR PERFUME)
GROOM ACCESSORIES (IF YOU WANT PHOTOGRAPHED - SHOES, CUFF LINKS, TIE/BOWTIE, JEWELRY, ETC)
INVITATION SUITE (FULL SUITE, WITH DUPLICATES IF THEY'RE TWO SIDED PIECES)
Unfortunately, we just can't control the weather for your wedding day. We wish this was possible and if we could pick any super power, this would be it. Ultimately, we are 100% okay with shooting in the rain if we need to! Here are some tips to help make it a little better:
RAIN TIPS
rain, rain, go away
CONSIDER AN UPDO IF YOUR HAIR DOESN'T HANDLE HUMIDITY WELL. You can find inspo on our mood board.
BUY CLEAR TOP UMBRELLAS FOR YOU & YOUR WEDDING PARTY (SO WE CAN STILL DO SOME PORTRAITS OUTDOORS!)
IT'S ALL ABOUT MINDSET - GO IN WITH A POSITIVE, FLEXIBLE OUTLOOK AND IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT NO MATTER WHAT. WE MAY NEED TO PIVOT ON THE TIMELINE OR LOCATIONS, BUT DON'T LET THE WEATHER RAIN ON YOUR PARADE.
Now that you've started creating the flow of your wedding celebrations, are you thinking you'd like to add on bridals or rehearsal coverage? Perhaps upgrade to full weekend coverage? We just ask that all changes are made by your final payment (14 days out from your wedding day). Email us to get current rates for us or our associate team (available only for rehearsal coverage), or click below for our current investment guide!
WANT TO ADD MORE COVERAGE?
INVESTMENT GUIDE
